Bulldozer battery?

[Brad Buchanan]

Hey everyone,

I was recently shopping for batteries for my towtruck. It takes 2 group 78 batteries and I am planning to relocate the batts to an underbed location mainly because the underhood area is so congested.

Most of the decent quality batteries are between $100 and $130 plus core for This application.

The wife and I were in Sams club and I wandered into the tire section and was checking out batteries. They had some 12 volt batteries which were 22"w x 12"d x 11"h Diehard brand 8D size I think.

The batteries were rated for 1775 cca.

I asked the manager about the batts and He said that a fellow ordered 4 of them and backed out when they came in about 2 weeks ago. He said that they were for some piece of heavy equipment

The price is $176 and actually saves me a bit of cabling too.

I guess my question is are those type batteries suitable for an on the road application like this??

Thanks in advance,

Brad
 

[LJD]

I can't think of any reason not to use it. I don't believe that CCA figure though. That's probably that silly CA figure. Many 8D batteries are rated around 1100 cold-cranking-amps (CCA). The most expensive that I know of are rated 1450 CCA. 8D is about the twice the size of a BCI type 78 but almost 3" taller. 8D will have near 3 times the reserve capacity (RC) and amp-hours (AH) of one type 78.

With flooded lead-acid batteries the actual weight will tell you the story.

8D rated 1100 CCA weighs 117 lbs. wet.
8D rated 1450 CCA weighs 134 lbs. wet.

78 rated 750 CCA weighs 36 lbs. wet.
78 rated 950 CCA weighs 44 lbs. wet.
 

[John T]

So long as it can be made to physically fit and be secured so it cant jump around and is a 12 volt starting type of battery (i.e. not a deep cycle) I'd have no heartburn using it (I also like good heavy cables). Sure of that CCA, that sounds high but hey if it really were that many I bet it will crank your truck over good........

John T
 

[Bob Bancroft]

I assumed all those great big batteries I had seen in Ford equipment were the same. But if I'm remembering right there are different ones. When it was time to replace the one in my Ford 655A backhoe, I was going to put in a group 31 threaded stud battery, which I much prefer. The CCA's weren't all that much different. But the 31 was too tall for the under-step battery box!
So like LJD, and John T, I am surprised at the CCA's you mention.
 

[redtom]

Go ahead and use them. 8D is just a size used in a lot of off road equip where size and weight don't matter. If you got the room and weight why not. I work on a fleet and I find that these sizes with high cca and are heavy have lots of plates that go down deep in the case, then they short out sooner since theres no room for sediment.
 

[the tractor vet]

Couple months ago i stopped by the Advance auto store here in town to get plugs for the daughters car and they had a 8 D setting on the floor and i made a comment abot boy i sure could have used that two months ago and the guy said why and i told him that i needed a battery of that size to og into a tractor and he told me well we have one in back that has been setting here for 8 months and NO BODY wants one this big and if you want it i'll let ya have it for 40 BUCKS . And just how long do you think it took for two twnentys to be layed out on the contour and the back of my truck to be opened . Yep it is back there and will be in a tractor in Mo. on the next trip . Just saved my friend over a hundred bucks.
 

[buickanddeere]

You are winning another way by relocating the batteries from excessive heat. Lead Acid batteries deteriate much faster at temps above 77F.
 

[Chip812]

But..... (and I hate to be the wet blanket)... When it comes time to replace them, won't the battery holder that you'll need to build to accommodate these be way too big for their replacement?
 

[Brad Buchanan]

You guys were completely right!

I looked it up and the cca was 1400. The ca was 1700.

I think I am going to try this battery and see how it performs. The next question is how big do the cables have to be. The longest run should be 7 ft. more or less. I was thinking about 2 gauge stranded copper.

Brad
 

[buickanddeere]

Must have been a typo, you intended 2/00 or two aught. Bolt on clamps won't work either . Must be HD soldered or swagged clamps.